


Candy hearts and chocolate sauce; a Valentine's Day vignette

by ColorfulStabwound



Series: Drarry Dump [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drarry, Grimmauld Place, Kreacher, M/M, Malfoy Manor, Post - Deathly Hallows, Post-Hogwarts, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-22
Updated: 2013-03-22
Packaged: 2017-12-06 02:06:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/730373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColorfulStabwound/pseuds/ColorfulStabwound
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco Malfoy was for all intents and purposes, screwed.</p><p>And we are not talking screwed in a sense that one might enjoy, perhaps taken as a leisurely shag on a Sunday afternoon; no. We are talking knees to the floor, balls to the wall, somebody strike me down with a fatal curse, d.e.a.d.</p><p>Keep reading…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Candy hearts and chocolate sauce; a Valentine's Day vignette

Valentine’s Day is not something Draco has given much thought to in previous years, his entire exposure to the heart-felt holiday consisted of the obligatory bouquet of roses he had sent to his mother each year. Relationships that would require him to even consider the dreaded day were admittedly, non-existent. Pansy Parkinson had hardly inspired him to read sonnets from rooftops or drop galleons on expensive chocolates, after all.

It had been a casual enough inquiry from his mother that had triggered the panic that now gripped him, or so he thought at the time; Draco always knew better than to discount anything his mother did as ‘casual.’

_What have you planned for St. Valentine’s Day, Draco?_

And that was it, right there; the string of simple words that would quickly send his world into a spiraling nightmare. He had stared blankly at her for a moment, perhaps two, as if he’d only just heard the term ‘St. Valentine’s’ for the first time in his life. The initial shock seemed to fade slightly, pity it was quickly replaced with dread. Was he supposed to be thinking of Valentine’s Day now? Is that what persons who find themselves in relationships such as him, did? Was this the first of many that might be forever tainted by his thoughtlessness on the matter?

It had been that very day after tea with his mother that he has spent the better part of two hours pacing the floors of Grimmauld Place, perfectly manicured brows drawn into a desperate scowl. He had exhausted every idea within his reach which included asking the plushies and even Kreacher; which in hindsight might not have been the best idea he’d ever had. Now here he was, precious time slipping through his fingers and still no better for it. Draco racked his brain for anything at all, any sort of inspiration that would tell him what he needed to do. He thought of Harry…In the shower, the way clumps of his hair would stick to the tiles when he leaned back against them. Draco’s lips twitched with his own perverse mind, the scene bleeding into another of Harry tangled in bed sheets, his hair an endearing yet highly horrifying nest of chaos spewing this way and that. Draco had seen this image first hand on many occasions, generally immediately following one of Harry’s grueling shifts at St. Mungos.  He smiled to himself, yet another image of Harry coming to mind; this time in the passenger seat of Draco’s Aston, arm stretched out of the open window, hair ruffling on an endless breeze that whipped through the car windows.  By the time he was done daydreaming Draco had come to two conclusions:

One-What do you buy the hero who has everything? And Two-How do you tell the most precious person in your life precisely what they mean to you without sounding horribly daft?

Draco sighed heavily, fingers dragging though his hair before he slid his hand into his pocket, blunt nails dragging against the muggle mobile inside. “Hmm…” He pulled the thing out, swiping his finger over its face and peering down at it, brows knitted together in abstract thought. It wasn’t often that he admitted to himself that he was at a loss, even less of an occurrence when he asked for help; but Draco was desperate. He scrolled through the contacts that Harry had been kind enough to input for him, eyes sliding closed as he pressed ‘dial’ and swallowing the dry lump that had lodged itself in his throat.

“Hello? Draco? What’s the matter? Is Harry alright?”

Draco sighed to himself as the female voice on the other end of the call started spouting off countless questions at an alarming pace, head shaking for a moment before he remembered she couldn’t actually see him doing it.

“Harry is fine Hermione, I just uhm…Well, I had a question to ask you actually.”

The moment the words left his mouth he wanted to snatch them back, the silence from the other end making his feelings of dread mount tenfold. Hermione was certainly not his first choice but Draco couldn’t deny that she was a female and also someone who was close to Harry, and although his relationship with Harry’s friends was practically nonexistent, Draco was desperate.

“St. Valentine’s Day.”

The voice in his ear came so suddenly that he actually jumped before his brain assimilated what she’d actually said, which drew a somewhat incredulous eye widening look about to verify he wasn’t being monitored by hidden recording devices of any kind (Draco had been watching an ‘awful’ lot of 007 lately, consider this notion a side effect).

“How did you…?”

Draco never quite got to finish that sentence before Hermione cut back in and despite his utter loathing of the entire conversation he was partaking in, he couldn’t help but be mildly amused by the evident exasperation in her voice.

“I’m not terribly daft you know, Draco. Why in Merlin’s name else would you be calling me if not to tell me something’s happened to Harry or to ask me about what to get him for Valentine’s day..?”

“Er…”

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

There was a long moment of pause as Draco struggled to find the right words, it was one thing admitting he was sinking to himself, quite another to admit it to Hermione Granger (Draco’s mind still refused to affix ‘Weasley’ to her name and referred to her as such). A soft sigh finally escaped him and he nodded again, defeat eminent.

“Hermione, I’m desperate.”

Three little words that would forever change his life in ways he had yet to comprehend. Little did he know at that moment but Hermione Granger-Weasley was currently standing in her kitchen  grinning ear-to-ear on the other end of the phone, just a little bit more of the residual apprehension she carried where Draco was concerned having melted slightly.

“Honestly Draco, I don’t know how you boys would survive a single day without a woman there to save your arses.”

Draco snorted at the comment but was amused non-the-less, his lips curved into a soft smile as she continued on.

“This is Harry we’re talking about Draco, just think. Think about what he likes, he’s pretty straightforward in that department.”

“I buy him candy all the time Hermione, I hardly see how that is a worthy gift for such an occasion.”

“Draco, “ Hermione heaved a sigh, interjecting. “It’s not the gift that’s important Draco, it’s what goes into it that counts. Get it?”

“I think so…”

“Draco look, Harry really, _really_ likes you; I doubt that anything you give him would be a disappointment. Just use your heart, and think. I’m sure you will come up with something suitable.”

“But what if I don’t? Everyone makes this St. Valentine’s stuff seem rather important, I shouldn’t mess up the very first one…I just can’t.”

Hermione sighed again and Draco could almost picture her shaking her head at him, which amused him still.

“Look, I’ll tell you what. I’ll owl a few things over to give you an idea of what St. Valentine’s Day is all about, okay? Hopefully it will give you the inspiration you need to find the perfect gift.”

Draco pulled the mobile away from his ear for a moment and stared at it, silently amazed at her willingness to help him despite their pasts.

“I…Thanks Hermione that would mean a lot.”

“You’re welcome Draco and remember, this is Harry we’re talking about. He already loves you,  no gift is going to change that.”

Draco was stunned into silence at her honest words that held not the slightest trace of malice or distaste, a small smile curving his mouth upwards.  By the time he’d hung up with Hermione he felt a lot better than he had prior to making the call; it might have seemed like the wrong idea at the time but maybe he’d been wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time…

It was another hour or so before a large barn owl came tapping at the sitting room window, which Draco quickly opened the window for and ushered inside.  Hermione’s care package had been an interesting assortment of items that Draco studied carefully.  There were muggle picture movies with funny titles like ‘Casablanca’ and ‘Moulin Rouge’ and beautifully worked poems of love scripted on small scraps of parchment and even a book full of pictures of hearts and people snogging which Draco found rather off putting to look at. There was an assortment of Valentine’s themed candy as well, from lip shaped chocolate to small colorful hearts with amusing phrases stamped on them.  There were love songs from some handsome bloke named Michael Buble’ and a dubious looking jar of what appeared to be chocolate sauce.  At the end of it all Draco decided he was no closer to figuring out a gift for Harry than when he’d started and he couldn’t help but wonder if that had been Hermione’s plan all along. He thought back to what she’d said to him, wondering if she had been right; would the gift truly not matter so long as it was thoughtful and came from him?  Draco already loved Harry, there was no mistaking it, and it was that overwhelming love that was driving him to want to give Harry the perfect gift; but what was it?

It was thirty minutes of pacing and fifteen minutes face down on the sofa before it came to him and when it did it hit him like a lightening rod.

It was renewed force that moved him and newfound excitement that caused him to spring off the couch and scoop up several of the items that Hermione had sent over before rushing out of the room with his loot.

“KREACHER!!!”

By the time Kreacher had returned with his requested items Draco had already worked out the charm he needed. He thanked the elf and relieved him of his offerings; a large bag of candy hearts and enough chocolate sauce to fill a bathtub.  Draco set to the task of transforming the gaudy candied hearts, first in color and then in their expressions. By the time he’d finished with them they were a solid mix of crimson hearts and deep green hearts, each charmed with a specialized saying pertaining to the two of them. Draco figured the conversation hearts were a cliché’ Valentine’s staple, but he was fairly certain that the average variety weren’t quite as brilliant as his own creations. After he was finished Draco dropped handfuls of them in Harry’s healer robes pockets so that he might find them throughout his shift at St. Mungos. This is also where he put the memory of a particularly ‘chocolate-y’ bath he’d taken, caught safely in a rose tinted glass phial and tied with a small red ribbon; the tag simply reading “Happy Valentine’s Day.”  It was with smug satisfaction at his accomplishments for the day that he lay down to sleep beside Harry, grinning widely up at the ceiling as they drifted off…

It may be the first, but it will certainly be memorable and as he slowly lowered himself back into the chocolate filled bathtub he couldn’t help but wonder exactly how long it would be until Harry returned home…

 


End file.
